Publications

Featured Books

Abraham Lincoln's Wilderness Years:
Collected Works of J. Edward Murr

Abraham Lincoln's Wilderness Years features the most significant scholarship from J. Edward Murr, one of the only writers to cover this lost period of Lincoln's life. Of all Lincoln's biographers, none knew his boyhood associates and Indiana environment as well as Murr, whose complete Lincoln research and scholarship have never been published—until now.

Abe's Youth:
Shaping the Future President

Abe’s Youth, co-edited with William “Bill” Bartelt, unearths vital primary source material and provides the first fully annotated edition of Lincoln Inquiry papers, which focus on Lincoln's life between 7 to 21 years of age. This volume offers indispensable reading for anyone hoping to investigate Abraham Lincoln’s youth and serves as a gateway for general readers into the environment of Lincoln’s early life.

Our American Story:
The Search for a Shared National Narrative

Our American Story features a collection of provocative essays by leading thinkers and public figures addressing the same central question—what is the unifying American story? Following decades of tribal division, we lack a central story to celebrate and enrich with deeper meaning. This book explores whether a unifying story can be achieved and, if so, what that story may be.

Born of Clay:
The Claiborne · Claybourn · Clayborn Families

Born of Clay charts the remarkable story of the Claiborne - Claybourn - Clayborn families in the United States. Beginning with Joshua Clyburn in the late 1790s, this history provides details on his thousands of descendants and gets progressively more detailed as the generations progress toward modernity. This builds on work by Verner M. Claybourn and Harriette P. Threlkeld.

Books

Academic / Legal Publications and Teaching

    • “The Opportunities and Pitfalls of Local Human Rights Ordinances,” The Network, a publication of the Indiana State Bar Association (July 2016). Winner of the Donald R. Lundberg Writing Award presented annually by the Indiana State Bar Association.
    • Adjunct Professor, University of Evansville, 2013. Taught Business Organizations (LS 350), a course on the legal organization of business entities, emphasizing the role of lawyers in forming various business organizations.
    • Research assistant to Prof. Gerard Magliocca (Indiana University McKinney School of Law). Assisted in the research and composition of Constitutional False Positives and the Populist Movement, 81 NOTRE DAME L. REV. 821 (2006). My research for this article also contributed to a subsequent book: Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes (Lawrence: U of Kansas Press, 2007).
    • Executive Articles Editor, Indiana Health Law Review, Vol. 3. Solicited and edited articles; ultimately responsible for accepting or rejecting articles submitted for publication in volume 3, which was comprised of two issues featuring ten articles, four student notes, and a symposium.

Book Reviews

Popular Press Publications

Selected Presentations

  • “Abe’s Youth,” Dr. Thomas F. Schwartz Luncheon and Lecture, Abraham Lincoln Association, Lincoln Presidential Library (February 2020)
  • “Doing Your Homework: Buying and Selling Municipal Property,” co-presenter, AIM, Indiana League of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers – 24th Annual ILMCT Institute & Academy (March 2019)
  • “Our American Story,” University of Southern Indiana Applied History Series, 21 February 2019
  • “Ordinances and Resolutions,” co-presenter, AIM, Indiana League of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers – 23rd Annual ILMCT Institute & Academy (2018)
  • “Consolidation of Local Income Taxes,” Jackson Kelly PLLC Municipal Law Seminar (2017)
  • “The Arc of Our New History,” Indiana Political Science Association (2017)
  • “The American Presidency” (Roundtable), Indiana Political Science Association (2017, 2018)
  • “Little Egypt Goes to War,” Southern Indiana Civil War Roundtable (2017)
  • “Lincoln’s Almanac Trial,” Southern Indiana Civil War Roundtable (2015)
  • “Post-Civil War Fraternities,” Southern Indiana Civil War Roundtable (2014)

Selected Media Appearances

  • “Lincoln: Divided We Stand,” CNN documentary, January 2021
  • Quoted in “How to Steal an Election,” The New Yorker, 4 July 2016
  • Guest on NHK (Japanese television network), “The American Election,” 1 July 2016
  • Quoted in “‘I Can Watch It on TV’: Excuses for Republicans Skipping a Donald Trump Convention,” New York Times, 1 June 2016
  • Guest on MSNBC Live with Kate Snow during coverage of 2016 Republican Party primary, 5 May 2016
  • Quoted in “Conservatives eye third party candidate,” CNN, 5 May 2016

Travel Diaries

Personal Reflections

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